The One Where They're Friends
by doofusface
Summary: "O-kay," Hiccup said, holding up his hands in protest. "I thought we were over that, you guys. Me and Astrid equals no." Hiccstrid. Modern!AU
1. Operation: Meant to Fail

There were currently two points of interest for the Berk Academy student body:

a) Astrid Hofferson's new boyfriend.

b) How long he would _stay_ her boyfriend.

"I give it a week, _tops_ ," Ruffnut snickered, nudging her twin brother in the ribs.

"Too long. I call four days, and only 'cause they don't have the same sched," Tuffnut said, laughing. He turned to the tall, lanky brunet beside him. "What do you think, Hiccup?"

The brunet frowned in feigned concentration, bringing a hand up to his chin. "I don't know, I think he might stick."

The blonde twins balked. They felt personally victimized by this declaration, and didn't find it hard to express their sentiments.

"Dude, you can't be _serious_ —"

"—she's _way_ too good for him—"

"—besides, everyone knows—"

"—she likes y—"

"O-kay," Hiccup said, holding up his hands in protest. "I thought we were over that, you guys. Me and Astrid equals _no_."

"They brought _that_ up again?"

The trio turned to find Astrid half-glaring at the twins, her question clearly addressed to her infamous best friend, Hiccup.

He sighed. "You'd think they'd stop after, what, four years?"

Tuffnut slowly counted off their high school years on his fingers. "Three. Three years."

"Congrats, you can count," Astrid said. She turned to the gangly boy. "Hiccup, can I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure, as long as it isn't gonna be a declaration of your love," he joked, following Astrid.

She laughed, putting a hand to her chest in mock seriousness. "Me? In _love_? With _you_? How did you _know_?"

He played along, dramatically moving his arms about. "It was the twins! The all-knowing Thorstons, spreading the truest gossip through Berk, as usual."

They laughed together, moving to an emptier part of the hallway, and leaving the said twins in visible annoyance. No one made a fool of Ruff and Tuff _except_ for Ruff and Tuff.

"Okay, seriously," Astrid pleaded once they were (for the most part) alone. "I like this guy. Enough to tell you. _Please_ keep him away from the twins."

Hiccup would've laughed if Astrid hadn't looked so serious. Then again, considering her dating record, she _was_ due for a relationship that lasted more than a week. Poor thing. Poor, very capable, very dangerous, not-an-object, thing.

He settled for a lazy nod—the same one he would use when consoling her for one reason or another. If "consoling" included agreeing to being her (very bad) fencing partner on days when she had to let off some steam.

"Thank you," she said, hugging him. "I owe you one."

"Technically, you owe me five—"

She pulled back. "The moment, Hiccup. You're ruining it."

He stuck his tongue out at her. She punched him lightly on the shoulder, pecked him on the cheek, and ran off around the corner, yelling another, "Thanks you!" as she went.

Hiccup stood there for a moment. That was normal for them. A kiss on the cheek every now and then—he'd blamed it on their European blood or something. Family friends always did that sort of thing anyway, and they were very close family friends.

(An argument could be made if the two of them specifically were close to begin with, but everyone knew that whatever differences they had as young'uns were effectively mended the day he'd pushed her off the street and out of the path of a speeding car at age 10.)

"Ah, young love." The voice brought him back to reality. Fishlegs was behind him, making a swooning face. "So pure, so sweet, so—"

"So not actually love. Unless we define that as 'a deep closeness with one's best friend' now."

The larger teen smirked.

"Wait."

Still smirking.

"Not _romantic_ love, then," Hiccup sighed, defeated. "You know, I don't have time for this. I need to keep the twins away from what's-his-name. Care to join me?"

Fishlegs shrugged, holding up his post-school-pre-hangout-meal. "Not like I meet with _other_ people after school. Ever. Oh man, am I a loser?"

Hiccup laughed lightly as he led the way to the Thorstons. He swung an arm across his friend's shoulder—er, as far as it could reach, anyway. "I _really_ don't think you're a loser, Fishlegs."

"You were the first sophomore to win gold at diving. With a missing leg."

Hiccup nudged his friend encouragingly. "And _you_ got the robotics team to start being cool again with _Meatlug_ , am I right?"

"Yeah…"

"Look at it this way, bud," he said, leaning in, "you've done _way_ more than Snotlout at every corner. And he's won a few golds, too."

That cheered him up significantly. The on-going, arguably never-ending, rivalry between Fishlegs and Snotlout was almost as fierce as Hiccup and Astrid's general competitiveness. Admittedly, the latter always maintained an air of ease in their bets and deals, as opposed to the former's, ah, disastrous tendencies.

But at least Fishlegs felt better!

They stopped at the spot where Hiccup had left the twins—and started panicking at the absolute lack of said twins' presences.

"She's going to kill me," Hiccup squeaked, turning to face his friend. "Fishlegs, I'm going to _die_."

Fishlegs held up his hands in an effort to fend off the brunet. "Not necessarily! Astrid can be very forgiving!"

Hiccup squinted at him.

"—I bribed her when I accidentally let Stormfly out of her cage to apologize."

Hiccup nodded acknowledgingly. And then:

"—and _that's_ the deal between those two!"

Their heads spun to the voice's general direction. They knew that voice.

" _Snotlout_ ," they said in unison, with varying levels of annoyance.

They found him in around a corner, talking loudly to Astrid's very new, very annoyed-looking boyfriend. For about three hours. Not that Hiccup kept count—that was Fishlegs' deal. And the twins'. And pretty much everyone at Berk Academy's.

It was like a major gambling ring, honestly.

"Say, Fishlegs, if _Snotlout_ told him, then I'm _technically_ good to go, right?" Hiccup asked nervously.

Fishlegs fidgeted. "Sure."

The two of them watched as Astrid's (possibly ex-) boyfriend began walking away with an all too familiar slump in his stride.

"I wouldn't rule out hiding out at the Cove for a few days, though," he added hastily. "To, y'know, be safe."

Hiccup pat his friend's shoulder and started to run off. "Good idea. Shoot me a text when she's done killing you!"

Fishlegs sighed. He was used to this. He took a step toward Snotlout. "And… damage control."


	2. Bog Burgers Bonding

**Think of this as a set up, sort of, and also a lot of friendship, because I dig everybody a lot.**

 **Jamison - tried to get a bit more action in there! thanks for the helpful review, mate.**

* * *

The text came at 6 on the dot, and Hiccup arrived at Bog Burgers at half-past six, holding a hand-made flower crown and six pieces of odd-looking rocks that he'd picked up from the Cove. He threw one rock haphazardly at each of his friends across their picnic table, keeping a small, broken-looking one for himself.

(It was a weird tradition they picked up in middle school, the first time the six of them ended up together—voluntarily—in the secluded mini-beach that was the Cove. A rock for each of them after every trip together, or when they were to meet up afterwards—something to symbolize a bit of stability in their weird, surprisingly healthy, friendship.)

Astrid frowned at him, catching her little stone without diverting her eyes. "One job, Hiccup."

He shrugged and attempted to make a smile, failed, grimaced, pointed at Snotlout accusingly, and said, "He is _not_ a twin."

Tuffnut snorted. "Explain why he's always around us, then!"

Astrid directed her frown at the male Thorston. "Because you're _friends_?"

"Oh," Tuffnut coughed. "Right. Forgot that part."

Hiccup facepalmed while Snotlout smacked the back of Tuffnut's head. The latter action then led to Ruffnut hitting her brother for no reason, and the twins erupting into a full-blown wrestling match right outside the restaurant's doors.

"Great job, genius," Astrid seethed at Snotllout. "You know how long those two take to finish a wrestling match."

"If the answer is 'a lot longer than me', then yes," Snotlout said smugly, proceeding to wipe at imaginary gold medals.

Then, silence, save for the multiple grunts and death threats the twins were spewing at each other. That wave of comfortableness and annoyance rolled into one—the type of quiet you can only get from years of familiarity and a significant fear of the future and the nostalgia it will bring.

 _Friendship_.

"I'm gonna miss this," Fishlegs said quietly, leaning forward onto the table. He scrunched up his face as Ruffnut landed an especially painful blow. "Or y'know, the _essence_ of this."

The group collectively "ooh"d as Tuffnut retaliated. Hiccup, who had taken his nobody-had-to-say-it-but-it-was-reserved seat beside Astrid, had his arm covering his face. "Pain and feral tendencies?" he squeaked out.

Astrid nudged him, too engrossed at the current proceedings to maintain her former angry/annoyed/disappointed attitude to continue being mad at him. That guy wasn't going to last anyway, and she knew it. She laughed. "Use that big brain of yours, huh? Fishlegs is right. Next year…"

Snotlout, at the back of the group, slumped his shoulders. Fishlegs sighed deeply. Hiccup hiccupped.

"Sorry," he said, sipping at Astrid's drink out of habit. See? Best friends. Sharing drinks. Normal, everyday occurrences.

He leaned on her. "It's not like we're going to lose contact with each other, right?"

"Right!" Fishlegs responded eagerly. "Technology is at an all-time high, and—"

"No one _cares_ , Fishbreath. This is _high school_. Everyone knows college is where it's _at_ ," Snotlout replied spitefully. "Do _you_ know anyone who still talks to their high school friends?"

"Well—"

" _Over_ the age of 24?"

"Okay, no, but—"

And that's when Astrid decided to tune out everything. Every _one_. She didn't want this right now. It would be Christmas in a couple of months, homecoming and the winter formal before that, prom after… and graduation.

A letter and phone number popped into her mind, reminding her of what was coming. She watched the twins wrestle absentmindedly, subconsciously memorizing their mannerisms for when she had to leave. She could still hear Snotlout and Fishlegs arguing behind her, and she tried to remember this moment, where everyone was goofing off and being undeniably _stupid_ , and she was beside her best, best, _best_ friend—

Who was staring at her with a scrunched up, confused expression. She extra aware of his freckles and the small scar on his chin—which she was responsible for, due to a play-date gone very, very wrong at age 5—and the fact that he was about an inch from her face. She frowned out of habit, but a smile fought to get out, too. "You're staring."

"You're being _weird_."

" _You're_ being weird," she countered, nudging him away.

" _Astrid_." Hiccup said it the way he would whenever he knew she needed to get something off her chest, but was too embarrassed, for whatever reason, to say anything.

"I was thinking… about the Air Force," she whispered to him. When he didn't say anything, she continued, "and—look, I know we said we'd go together—"

Hiccup was nodding slowly, fidgeting with his hands and the crown. "No big deal," he said, shrugging all the way down to his hands. "Seriously. They'd love you. All gung-ho and fearless. You're way too pretty to be stuck there though. Maybe. I don't know. Ha! The Air Force."

His voice had dropped to an inaudible volume, and he kept rubbing his neck and tinkering with the flower crown. Visibly upset for obvious reasons, and then some.

"Are you going to give me that?" Astrid interjected in an attempt to change the topic. She pointed at the wound up branches and blue-and-pink flowers that made up the crown. "It's nice. You're gonna make some really cool stuff, Hiccup."

"Sure. No one to give them to, but sure," he pouted, semi-ceremoniously getting up on the bench seat to put the crown on her head.

"I'm pretty sure the Academy accepts mail."

"Ah, but does it accept Hiccup-designed mail, is the important question," Hiccup said. "What if I try to send—oh, I don't know—a 4-foot, cast iron version of Stormfly to you? They might melt it to make _bullets_."

Astrid laughed. She didn't notice the rest of their friends pausing whatever they were doing at the mention of a 4-foot cast iron parakeet.

"Can _we_ make bullets?" Tuffnut asked, tangled up in a mess of limbs and gravel.

"NO!" the group chorused, as if on cue.

Tuffnut shrugged off his sister's hand, which was pushing his head down to the ground. "And why not?"

Hiccup stared at him. "Because you won't make bullets. You'll make something _worse_."

" _Like_?"

"I am _not_ going to give you ideas," Hiccup replied, pointing at the two of them. "You two managed to make a stink bomb out of discarded papier-mâché materials, and I _still_ don't have the stench out of the clothes I wore that day."

"Wasn't that a year ago?" Astrid whispered to him.

"It was my favorite sweater, Astrid," he replied evenly.

She gaped at him in surprise. "You _liked_ that thing? Like you _genuinely_ —"

"O- _kay_ , not going there," he said, putting his hands up. "Point is, those two are not allowed to have any more ideas until we've all safely graduated."

Ruffnut giggled.

" _What_?"

She grinned cheekily. "You said ' _safely_ '."

Hiccup facepalmed. Astrid held back laughter. Fishlegs nodded concedingly. Snotlout squinted at her with a frown. Her twin, for the most part, echoed her words repeatedly.

And somehow, somewhere between everything, they all ended up laughing on the ground and on the table, their empty drink cups and food trays thrown in the trash. They didn't even _remember_ what they found so funny—the inevitable chaos that followed the twins wherever they went (and the fact that everything always worked out alright), or how Snotlout had ended up falling off his seat, or that now, _somehow_ , they were having a full-fledged tickling war in front of a fast food restaurant.

They had the same thought going home, however: nothing, _nothing_ could make them split up. Not if they had a choice, some words, and a heckuvalot of dedication.

Berk Academy's star Riders were in it for the long haul.


	3. Summer Nights, Dancing Lights

**hashtag this got long**

 **oh well**

 **here's some flashbacks! s/o to kate for beta-ing and also not killing me for this :'D**

* * *

 _"I was thinking more of like, a_ date _, or something," Hiccup offered, awkwardly drawing in the sand with his good leg. "If you want."_

 _Astrid paused the braid she was working on, her hands frozen in the air at this sudden invitation. Gears turned in her head slowly, registering what exactly was happening._

 _(Arguably, it wasn't all that surprising—they'd been going round a rather speedy carousel of flirting and mutual reciprocation, which the twins, as thick as they were, happened to notice first out of the whole group.)_

 _"Uh."_

 _Hiccup knocked his hands together repeatedly. "You_ can _say no, Astrid."_

 _"No," she echoed dumbly._

 _Hiccup smiled sadly, nudging her with his shoulder. His voice was still cracking—late, seeing as he was nearing fourteen—and it made him sound more like a disappointed child, "It's fine—"_

 _"No, I mean—_ wait _," she replied, turning to him and grabbing his hands. Bright blue met shining green. "I meant no to_ saying _no."_

 _He stared at her. "Oh."_

 _A beat._

 _Astrid looked at him pointedly, tilting her head in encouragement. A smile was creeping up on her, both from humor and excitement._

 _"Oh!_ Oh _. Really?" Hiccup said, visibly confused. "_ Me _?"_

 _She nodded enthusiastically, hugging him with a laugh. "You."_

* * *

"You just had to have a dance-off with Snotlout, didn't you?" Astrid fumed. She had on her hands on her hips, ruffling her sea foam green truck dress. She was _dangerously_ ticked off by the ruined homecoming decorations, the last piece of which decided falling at that moment was a good idea.

"Sorry," Hiccup replied sheepishly, as a soft _thunk_ came from the fallen banner, followed by a grunt of acknowledgement from Snotlout.

The blonde sighed deeply, pushing back her bangs. She somberly looked at the fallen banner and ripped decor, mourning their loss on the inside. "Oh, whatever. No one seems to notice it anyway."

Behind them, the rest of the gym continued on in celebrating the evening—Heather and her band, the Windshears (invited by the six friends from across the country), were playing an upbeat tune, keeping in step with the 50's theme of the dance. The twins were off at the center of the dance floor, messing up every possible iconic dance move since dance was invented, and Fishlegs was, predictably, calling dibs on the fresh batches of food.

Heck, even _Gustav_ was having a fun night; he'd scored the winning goal—Berk Academy was more of an actually-using-our-feet-type-football school—and managed to gain some fans along the way.

Astrid shrugged it off tiredly—being in charge of near-every school event gave her _way_ too much stress, and besides, there was never any use in crying over spilled (read: ripped) paper.

"Might as well enjoy the party," she said finally. "Try not to break anything _else,_ got it?"

The boys huffed to attention, straightening their backs and saluting, "YES MA'AM!"

A few nearby students looked over curiously, and Astrid shot them a glare, daring them to say anything. The underclassmen turned away, slightly cowering, and Astrid turned back to her friends.

"You really shouldn't freak out the freshmen," Hiccup quipped, straight-faced and still saluting.

"Or us," Snotlout added semi-frantically. "You _love_ us."

"Just _one_ of you."

Snotlout grinned. "Aw, babe—"

Astrid glared at him. "Not _you_ , Jorgenson."

He frowned mockingly. "Gee, I _could_ get ticked off about that, _or_ I could collect my $50 from Fishlegs."

Astrid and Hiccup turned to him with scrunched up faces. He merely pat the two of them on the shoulder, sighed triumphantly, and confidently walked over to the buffet table. The not-couple followed him with their eyes, watching from across the hall as the raven-haired wrestler conversed with the school's resident science genius.

Snotlout gestured to the blonde and brunet, and Fishlegs visibly groaned as he took out what Hiccup and Astrid presumed was $50 from his wallet.

* * *

 _"So I can't drive. Legally. Yet." Hiccup said sporadically. He was walking along the shore with Astrid; they'd left their friends at the opposite end of the Cove to have some time together. Off the corner of his eye, he could see Snotlout begrudgingly handing Fishlegs a piece of green paper—money. He shook his head as he realized that they'd been betting on this happening,_

 _"And Fishlegs is profiting off of_ this _," he added, gesturing to the two of them._

 _Astrid turned her head, her thick braid swinging along behind her. "Huh. Looks like it," she said, turning to Hiccup. She didn't really mind. "So where would we go for our date?"_

 _The word buzzed in their ears._ Date _. They were going on a date. With each other._ Alone _._

 _They paused mid-stride and started grinning at each other—two dumb teens entering high school in a week's time. Best friends and co-conspirators. The High Flyer and the Fencing Queen. Hiccup and Astrid. Astrid and Hiccup. They laughed, loud and energetic._

 _Wait 'til their parents heard about this._

 _"Well," Hiccup started when they'd calmed down. He swung his arms about nervously, not meeting the girl's eye. "I was thinking I could show you around Torch Park?"_

 _(For those new to the city of Berk, "Torch Park" was also collectively known as "Family Haddock's Money Pit"—it was an ancestral lot passed down through Hiccup's family tree, and was known for its collection of very old, very_ fancy _cars.)_

 _Astrid's eyes lit up, and she grabbed his arm, as if daring him to take it back; Hiccup just laughed endearingly. The Hoffersons were either pilots or mechanics by trade in one way or another, and Astrid, well—she'd built a functional, two-by-four 4x4 at eight years old. (Fishlegs was constantly trying to get her to join the robotics team. She was constantly trying to get him to let. it._ go _.)_

 _She looked him in the eye, her voice dead serious. "Hiccup, if you take me to Torch Park, I will marry you."_

 _"I'm gonna to hold you to that."_

 _"I don't care—I'm gonna see your car collection!"_

 _"My_ family's _car collection," Hiccup corrected._

 _"Same difference," Astrid replied, waving a hand dismissively. "Hey, maybe I_ will _marry you—I'll get my name signed on to that place and steal the cars for myself!"_

 _He leaned on her, taking her free hand in his. "Hey, 'maybe' sounds fun."_

 _She beamed._

* * *

"Give him back the 50, 'lout, that was _not_ a 'declaration of my undying love'," Astrid repeated with air quotes.

Hiccup was right behind her, adjusting his suspenders and visibly annoyed. "And who started this up again, anyway?"

Snotlout and Fishlegs gestured to the stage, surprising their friends.

" _Heather_?" the two said in unison, and with their voices an octave higher than usual.

"Can you _blame_ her?" Snotlout countered fiercely. "You two a—"

"—re looking really great tonight," Fishlegs interrupted hastily, covering Snotlout's mouth with his hand. "You should enjoy the dance! Won't have another one for a few weeks. I know you need a relaxing, wild-party kinda night, Astrid! And Hiccup, you deserve one too!"

Astrid opened her mouth to retaliate—only to be cut off by Heather's voice booming through the gym's speakers.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, alright guys, take a breather from the dancing—looking at _you_ , Tuff, nobody wants to see _that_ —'cause it looks like it's time to announce who the homecoming king and queen are!"

The four friends turned to the stage with different levels of excitement and interest. The gym erupted into cheering, and someone, somewhere in the middle of the room—they'd later find out it was Ruffnut—started chanting Astrid's name. Heather smiled, coaxing the crowd to chant louder; she knew her friend was the student body president and star- _everything_ , and heaven knew how many times Astrid called her up to talk not-so-subtlety about "girly, childish awards" like these.

Which, in Astrid-speak, meant she _really_ wanted one.

Astrid instinctively reached for Hiccup's hand. He met her halfway, gripping it tightly and offering a lopsided smile of encouragement. The two boys behind them facepalmed at their friends' obliviousness, and Snotlout pocketed the fifty with a roll of his eyes.

Heather laughed into the mic. "You all seem to have the queen decided, huh? How 'bout the king?"

Tuffnut, not missing a beat, started chanting his own name. The entire crowd quieted down, giving him weird looks and murmuring amongst themselves, prompting Ruffnut to hit her brother on the head.

"Ow— _what_?" he hissed, turning to her.

Ruffnut whispered something into his ear, and the next thing everyone knew, the gym was unanimously chanting Hiccup's name.

(Both the blonde and brunet were then significantly conflicted; they'd have to _dance_ in front of _people_ , and avoid getting swept up in the moment _again_ , and _Heather totally set this up, she is_ not _invited to prom_.)

* * *

 _Hiccup watched her fawn over the cars, lifting hoods and checking parts. She looked like a different person here, around things she was most excited about._

 _"Remind me to send your ancestors a thank you card," she said from across the hall. "This is_ amazing _."_

 _Hiccup smiled bashfully, moving his prosthetic leg around in small circles on the ground. He knew she liked cars, but he didn't know she liked them_ this _much—frankly, he would've asked her out earlier if he knew all he had to say to get a 'yes' was "Torch Park"._

 _"No, seriously, this is the best day ever," Astrid grinned, walking back to him. "Thank you, Hiccup."_

 _He didn't reply. He just tried to fight back that stupid grin of his—the one reserved for her, the one Fishlegs knew the meaning to since they were five, the one the twins would point out at every conceivable turn._

 _Needless to say, it creeped up anyway, and they stood there, gazing, surrounded by the motor vehicles of old._

* * *

Of _course_ they won. Of-freaking-course.

Astrid smiled tightly as she took Hiccup's hand to the open spot on the dance floor reserved for them. Hiccup, on the other hand, was still figuring out if he hated his friends for this or if he was glad to be dancing with the most beautiful girl in Berk. (He ended up going with the former.)

"Congrats, you two," Heather said. "Here's a slow one for the royals."

She whispered something to her band, and a slow, sickeningly romantic song. She smiled at the couple, starting the song with a wink. They knew that _she_ knew what she was doing.

"She is dead to me," Astrid deadpanned, putting her arms around her _best friend_.

(She was hoping that last bit would be telepathically sent to the singer, pointedly tossing a glare at her friend on stage to emphasize its importance. Heather laughed.)

Hiccup smiled tightly in an effort to assure everyone that he was, in fact, glad they voted for him. He moved closer to his friend, swaying slowly to the music. "She's not invited to the Christmas party, right?"

Astrid mimicked his smile, looking him straight in the eye. She was extra careful not to knock his prosthetic around. "Heck no."

* * *

 _They were dancing outside in the moonlight, music provided by Hiccup's iPod and headphones, in true Hiccup-style._

 _The song was slow. They were smiling at each other, and hugging, and swaying from side-to-side. Every now and then, Astrid would accidentally hit his prosthetic, tipping him over to one side. She'd catch him. They'd laugh it off._

 _They danced for what felt like hours._

* * *

The lights had dimmed, signaling the rest of the students to their free pass at entering the dance floor. It was two songs in to the "royal dance", but for the two friends, it had felt like hours.

In a really, _really_ good way.

They weren't stuck in that fake-smile-dance-for-show stage anymore; somewhere between songs one and two, they'd moved closer, Astrid's head on Hiccup's shoulder, his arms around her waist, hers locked behind his neck. Faking it got _tiring_.

The two of them had actually forgotten what was going on, if they were being honest. That is, until the songs took an upbeat turn, and they pulled away automatically, staring almost guiltily at each other.

"Uh," Hiccup said.

"Yup," Astrid answered quietly.

He moved his arms away. "I'll—"

"Wait—"

The drums rapidly played in the background.

They stared at each other, leaning in out of, well, _previous experience_.

Astrid cleared her throat, removing her arms from his neck. "You're right."

* * *

 _It didn't feel like anything in particular. It was like all that great stuff happened, and there was all this build up, and then—_

 _"Is this weird?" he murmured, when she pulled away._

 _She nodded, half-smiling. "A little weird."_

 _(They couldn't properly talk to each other for at least three weeks after that, and agreed it to be for the best if they didn't pursue… whatever it was they wanted from each other.)_

* * *

Hiccup closed his eyes, nodding. "Sometimes it sucks to be right all the time."

(They spent the rest of the night dancing in groups and with their other friends, both thinking of that night over three years ago, when they _both_ forgot to add that it was, in fact, a _good_ weird.)


	4. See You in Valhalla!

**FRIENDSHIP IS IMPORTANT**

* * *

Lunch was uneventful—if "uneventful" meant that the Thorston twins had started on their list of senior pranks, and that half of the junior classrooms were now covered in foam-looking, gel-like material.

Snotlout was their appointed accomplice for this particular task, and the three of them had walked into the cafeteria with unnervingly calm faces, causing Fishlegs to yell, "GET DOWN!" repeatedly to whoever would listen.

" _Relax_ , man, we didn't set it up here. Or anywhere near the robotics room," Tuffnut promised, setting down his tray of food beside the large eighteen-year-old. His twin followed suit, and Snotlout found a seat on the other side of Astrid, much to her annoyance.

Ruffnut smiled mischievously, fist-bumping her twin. "Yeah, we just left a little present for the underclassmen. Senior parting gift, you could say."

"You do realize that if you mess up your school record too much you _won't_ be graduating?" Astrid said between mouthfuls.

"We're way ahead of you, Hofferdaughter," Tuffnut reported proudly. "Everything on our list is one hundred percent legal—"

"— _and_ unlisted in the school handbook, meaning they _can't_ keep us from graduating," Ruffnut finished.

"I don't know what I would do without you two geniuses," Hiccup answered sarcastically.

"Die, maybe," Ruffnut answered.

"Ooh! Or get eaten by a lava monster!" Tuffnut chimed in.

Astrid shook her head at him. "Those don't _exist_ , Tuff."

"Our lab would say otherwise," Ruffnut replied, putting a finger up to end the discussion.

Astrid moved to add another retort, but Hiccup held her back, shaking his head. "It's no use," he whispered. "They'll do whatever they want anyway."

As if on cue, a thundering chorus of what sounded like a mix of an extra-large fog machine and a distressed whale entered the cafeteria, causing Fishlegs to duck under the table hastily—and almost toppling it. The twins, who were on his side of the table, continued snacking on their Ultimate Mystery Meat, as if nothing had happened, despite almost slipping off the side of the bench.

" _What_ was _that_?!" Fishlegs yelped, shaking the table with his movement.

"I do believe the juniors will have to be _relocated_ soon," Tuffnut said, grinning.

"Right you are," Ruffnut said, high-fiving her brother before addressing the rest of the table with a wink. "Thorston tip of the day: don't pass through the East Wing. Lots of raging foam, if you know what I mean."

"I don't, but I also don't want to know, so," Hiccup answered slowly.

"Okay, ignore the eternal weirdness that is— _them_ ," Astrid said, gesturing to the twins and Snotlout, "and let's focus on something more important, shall we?"

Snotlout took a bite off his sandwich. "'ike wha'?"

Astrid smiled smugly, pulling out a list from her pocket. Several dates, names, and places were listed, and she pointed to one in particular, halfway down. " _Prom_."

The others paused from their chewing, and Fishlegs even got up from under the table, foam bombs forgotten for the time being. Hiccup choked on air.

"P— _cough_ —prom?" he stuttered out, clearing his throat. "Isn't that like six months away or something?"

"Yes, but people are already starting to call dibs on dates. So, I was thinking, to avoid the homecoming fiasco—" Astrid glared at the four culprits, "—we're going to have some ground rules."

The brunet raised a brow. "Like?"

"Like, you and me are not allowed to go as each other's dates."

"Fair enough," Hiccup answered.

Tuffnut leaned forward frantically. "No fair! We had a huge pot goi— _mrph_!"

" _Ignore him_ ," Ruffnut and Fishlegs said in unison, both clamping their hands over the male twin's mouth.

"Mrrph mmph…"

"Watch your mouth," Fishlegs chided.

"What if none of us have dates?" Ruffnut offered. "That way you two don't feel left out when I'm on the dance floor killin' it with Eret."

Astrid scrunched up her face. "Wasn't he supposed to be your date to homecoming?"

Ruffnut shrugged. "College schedules are _way_ different, okay? It's really hard to get a date in."

Astrid nodded sympathetically while leaning over to Hiccup and whispering, "She knows they're not actually _together_ , right?"

"Don't ruin dreams during lunch time, Astrid," he whispered back.

She smiled coyly. "Should I wait 'til after class?"

"Don't ruin dreams in general, Astrid."

* * *

The twins had, amazingly, been right about not getting suspended—while the Foam Fatale (coined by Ruffnut) was annoying and a pain to remove, it didn't actually _damage_ anything, no one got hurt, and _heck_ , Mulch was the chillest principal to exist anyway. They got off with a week's worth of detention and a written agreement to no longer "blast classrooms with _almost_ -edible, but curiously-colored foam-jello chemicals".

("Don't worry about it," Tuffnut had assured the gang with confidence. "The other master plots won't even be indoors. Loopholes are amazing!"

Hiccup had almost _thwack_ ed him with his prosthetic.)

The group met out in the school parking lot, as was custom. Hiccup and Fishlegs had been carpooling for ages, and when they'd made new friends, the offer was extended.

Seating arrangements had changed across the years, mostly due to a trial and error method that took into account the twins' raucous nature, and Snotlout and Fishlegs', _er_ , equally _undesirable_ arguing. Factor in that they all pretty much had their own cars when they turned sixteen, and they were left with a rotational compromise: they were to always have two cars (since they couldn't all legally fit into one ride), and each teen would babysit the twins on alternating weeks, except on the week which Ruff and Tuff were driving. Snotlout and Fishlegs were to always be in separate cars, and, as an unspoken rule, Hiccup and Astrid were always to be riding shotgun of each other.

(The last was both a ploy by the other four to get their friends together, and just obvious planning—they lived the closest from and each other, and so would be the last to get out of the car.)

This week had Astrid and Fishlegs in the driver's seat.

The twins jammed themselves into the back of Fishleg's car, cozying up to the leather and wood furnishings. It was a new car—an _extremely_ early graduation present from his parents—and they made a conscious effort to break in the leather everyday. (Fishlegs was convinced they only wanted to do the "break" part, however, so he installed some hidden cameras to catch them in the act. So far, all he had was a week's worth of footage of the two trying to figure out the function of one of the backseat buttons.)

Ruffnut heard a crumpling sound as she took her seat, her hand automatically reaching for the wild envelope and opening it. "Hey, 'legs, what's—"

She frowned, reading the page over. "'Valhalla University would like to congra—'"

Fishlegs grabbed the paper from her hands, gesturing for her to be quiet.

She didn't get the message. Her eyebrows rose in surprise, and she pointed at him excitedly. "You got in, didn't you?! _Hey, guys!_ "

As Fishlegs tried to shush his passenger, Astrid and hers leaned out of the windowless jeep, attention effectively caught by their friend.

Ruffnut grinned wildly. "Fishlegs got into Valhalla U!"

Hiccup gave Fishlegs a thumb up, smiling. "Early admission?"

"Yeah," Fishlegs replied sheepishly.

Astrid leaned over. "Isn't Valhalla on the other side of the country?"

He nodded.

"Oh," was all she could add.

Fishlegs rubbed the back of his neck. "Can you guys, maybe not... y'know, run around town screaming this? I got the letter from our counselor, and I kinda wanted to tell my parents first."

"Nope," Snotlout replied honestly. "The second Astrid revs this baby up, I'm yelling it all the way down Hooligan Ave."

"I know about the theatre incident and I will tell your dad," Fishlegs threatened.

Snotlout 's eyes went wide with terror, and Hiccup had to bite on his shirt to keep from laughing.

"You wouldn't," the wrestler gasped.

Fishlegs kept eye contact. "Oh, I _would_."

Snotlout slumped back in his seat, defeated and bright red. " _Fine_. Congrats."

Fishlegs nodded in approval, smugly answering, "Thank you."

(The theatre incident had happened a few days before; Snotlout had tried out for a rather difficult part, involving many a leotard, and, among other things, a sharp spear prop.

There was _many_ a ripped cloth that day.)

And off went the Ingerman car, followed suit by Astrid's blue jeep.

And for once, they didn't talk the whole way home. They didn't have to.

It was still early in the year, but they could already feel it; the separation was beginning.


	5. Sports Injury

**lil short, lil hard to write**

* * *

" _So he's really going, huh?_ "

"Yeah," Hiccup said into the general direction of his phone. He shuffled about his room, picking up various rolls of colored paper and shiny ornaments. "Says he leaves right after graduation, but he'll try to come for the hang gliding trip."

" _…_ "

"Astrid?"

" _…_ _Nothing,_ " the voice replied unconvincingly. " _Just thinking._ "

Hiccup dropped off his materials at the edge of the bed, picking up his phone and shutting off speakerphone. "You know we'll be fine, right?"

Astrid sighed on the other end. " _Hiccup, he'll be on the other side of the country. The twins too, probably. Snotlout's going to join the_ Navy _. And I'll—"_

"Yeah, I know. Air Force."

" _I'm sorry. I know you wanted to go together_."

Hiccup moved his prosthetic absentmindedly. "It's fine. I like engineering more, anyway."

" _That and you're a pacifist._ "

He laughed. It was true. "And you're _not_?"

Astrid paused. She'd wanted to reply in the negative—wanted to argue with herself that she was alright with the idea of doing certain things to survive, wanted to tell herself she was going to protect the country.

But eight years with Hiccup by her side had effectively tamed her excess fighting spirit, and, if she was being honest, all she wanted to do was build cars. _With_ Hiccup.

"Hello?"

" _Haha, of course not._ " Astrid replied hastily. " _You were there when I tossed Snotlout off the balcony, right?_ "

Hiccup smiled. "Would I have the video to prove it if I wasn't?"

Astrid was grinning on her end. " _Ha! Keep that long enough and—_ "

He heard something cracking in the background, springing to his feet and moving to the door impulsively. "Astrid? Are you okay?"

His hand reached the doorknob when he heard her heavy breathing on the other side, and he relaxed significantly.

" _Yeah,_ " she replied groggily. " _Ruff missed the goal post. I gotta go._ "

"Don't you sit on the bleachers?"

" _Hiccup, it's_ Ruff _._ "

"Fair point," he conceded. "You two need a ride later?"

" _Are you dropping off the decorations?_ "

"Yeah."

Astrid hummed thoughtfully. " _Sure, why not._ "

"See ya."

" _Bye, babe._ "

There was a long pause; Hiccup's jaw had dropped near-permanently, and Astrid, equally surprised and wide-eyed, hurriedly cut the call before he could say anything else.

* * *

"You said _what_?" Ruffnut shrieked.

"Keep it down, it's not a big deal," Astrid replied, throwing hand over her friend's mouth.

Ruffnut shoved her friend away. "Look, you're way too busy being responsible or whatever to notice, but for everyone _else_ at school? You two are the only thing not keeping us from ripping our hair out from how _boring_ classes are."

"That's a little sad, don't you think?" Astrid said, raising a brow. "Don't you have anything better to do?"

Ruffnut shrugged. "I can honestly say: no, I don't."

"Okay, whatever, forget it—I was just a little off because you _hit me with a football_ ," the shorter blonde said, pointedly rubbing at the back of her neck.

"That is _so_ not my fault!" Ruffnut half-yelled, a smile the only indication that she found the entire thing a certain level of hysterical. "Who keeps their back at the football field when they know that _I'm_ playing?"

"People who are having phone conversations about their friend group imploding," Astrid replied stoically, turning away from her friend.

Ruffnut paused, turning solemn. "Astrid—"

Astrid pushed back her bangs, exhaling. "Anyway. You should get back there. You can only use 'I hit someone on the back of the head with a football' as an excuse, like, _once_ ," she said jokingly, waving off her friend.

(She would later blame that short episode of vulnerability on the cumulative stresses of the winter formal, finals, and the Christmas party she and Hiccup were planning.

Ruffnut made a point to hug her a little more every day.

Astrid showed her the acceptance letter.)

* * *

Hiccup didn't leave his room until the very last possible minute. He'd dialed Heather's number, hung up before the first ring, opted for Fishlegs, hung up again, and ended up deciding to lie down in semi-complete solitude (his cat, Toothless, was in his room, after all) to assess the situation.

He sighed. "That didn't _mean_ anything, right bud?"

The black cat stared at him.

"You're right, I'm overthinking this."

He continued staring.

"She was probably a little woozy from the football or something, right?"

Toothless moved over to where his head lay, and for a moment, Hiccup thought the cat would do something to fix his troubles. Toothless, however, only stretched himself over his owner's forehead, plopping down as if to say, "Shut up, human," or "It's exactly what you think, but you _are_ overthinking this."

Seeing as Toothless was a cat, it was hard to decipher which message was meant.

"Toothless, _off_."

The cat stayed, and so did the boy. Hiccup settled for thinking—which by all intents and purposes shouldn't allowed without supervision, knowing the Haddock boy—and he became acutely aware of time passing by too quickly.

He remembered the previous summer; spending more and more days alone with Astrid since the other four had had family vacations. He remembered the first week of school and the boy from the diner who asked her out, and she said yes. He remembered Snotlout scaring said boy off with stories—false, for the most part—of himself and the blonde.

He thought about many things: the fact that she never really minded about her _numerous_ break-ups for more than an hour, the fact that _he_ never really had a girlfriend (which, granted, was probably because of other factors), and the fact that they never really talked about That Night while they were alone.

His phone buzzed at five-to-five. He didn't have to look to know it was Astrid.

 _Hey. Ruff's off in ten. I'll be in the gym. Don't forget the paint._

Hiccup thought of just one more thing on the way to the school.

The fact that whenever these things happened, they _always_ acted like they didn't.

(He _did_ end up calling Heather that night, after he'd spent upwards of two hours helping set up the gym for the next dance. She hadn't answered, and he took it as a sign to—for the _nth_ time—let it be.)


	6. Don't Worry About It

**well this got long**

* * *

Winter formal went by without a hitch—Astrid had, of course, bribed the twins—and after their grueling finals, winter break and a promise of an _epic_ Christmas party were the only things on the minds of the teens.

(Considering the Incident that came about before the dance, Astrid had, predictably, blamed it on her temporary injury, and Hiccup had, _predictably_ , bought it.)

"Tuff, you're in charge of cups," Hiccup said, scratching items off a list. "Ruff, you're in charge of making sure he _brings_ the cups."

"Snotlout's on music— _don't_ mess this up, Jorgenson—and 'legs is in charge of desserts," Astrid added, watching him tick off more items.

They were all at the Cove, spending their first day off near freezing water and an even colder breeze (not their best idea, honestly).

Snotlout huffed, a white fog emanating from his lips. "And you two?"

"Food," Hiccup grinned.

Astrid matched him. "Drinks."

Tuffnut leaned over. "Can you—"

"No, I am _not_ bringing alcohol," she interjected. "Unlike you, _some_ of us can't risk messing up our scholarship chances."

"Buzzkill," he replied, sticking his tongue out at her.

She laughed. "I'm not even going to argue with you."

Hiccup gave her a weird look, assuring her that that was, in fact, not-Astrid behavior.

She shrugged, a half-smile still on her face. "We're halfway done with the _year_ , guys. The party's in a week, and Christmas is like, a half a week after. I could _not_ care less about your weak insults."

Tuffnut gasped, his hand shooting to his chest. Ruffnut held her brother; both their faces held a mixture of hurt and indignation.

"My insults are _not_ weak, Astrid," Tuffnut countered, his voice wavering.

Astrid tilted her head. " _Eh_."

Ruffnut covered her twin's ears, dramatically turning to her friend. "Take it back! You're _killing_ him!"

Tuffnut threw his arm up, grasping at the air. "My—life force—I can't—go on—"

"You'll be fine, Tuff…we'll get through this… we'll have our revenge!" Ruffnut said encouragingly, clutching at her brother's coat. "Stay with me, man!"

Tuffnut closed his eyes, his voice cracking. "We had… a good run… remember me, sis—and don't let mom turn my room into a gym…"

He let his arm fall to his side, and his sister hugged him tightly, feigning tears. Astrid clapped. "Not bad."

Tuffnut and Ruffnut stood and bowed excessively, thanking their circle of friends with wild handshakes.

"Wow, and you let _Snotlout_ go for theatre instead?" Hiccup asked, raising his brow. " _They_ could've gotten the part for sure."

"Hey, don't insult my skills, _Hiccup_ ," Snotlout threatened, pointing a finger at his friend.

Hiccup didn't budge, keeping his face straight and his voice monotone. "That _is_ my name, yes."

"You— _ugh_ , forget it," Snotlout conceded, dropping his hand. His friends laughed, patting him and Hiccup on the shoulder.

Hiccup grinned, gesturing with his hand. "Don't feel bad, Snotlout. That was a good try."

Snotlout huffed, turning to Astrid. " _How_ do you deal with this guy?"

She shrugged, smiling warmly. "You learn to tune it out."

"You tune me out?" Hiccup asked, feigning hurt.

"Hiccup, _everyone_ tunes you out. They're doing it right now," she replied shaking her head at him. She gestured behind her, where the twins had, somehow, started another brawl with Fishlegs as their referee. Snotlout _whoop_ ed, and rushed over to coax both of them to hit harder.

" _Gee_ , I for one feel _really_ appreciated," Hiccup said, frowning. He watched the twins wrestle in the ground—how they weren't running out of breath in the cold air was beyond him—and made a mental note to keep a spot in his house clear during the party in case this happened again (because it always did.)

Astrid strung her arm around his shoulder. She leaned over and whispered, "If it's any consolation, I don't actually tune you out."

He leaned his head on hers and held her free hand. He smiled lopsidedly. "Thank you, Astrid."

He adjusted himself, turning his head to watch their friends.

She leaned her head on his shoulder to keep him from seeing her blush.

" _How_ did they get up _there_?" Hiccup yelled over the murmuring crowd to whoever wanted to throw out an answer.

"They" referred to Fishlegs and Snotlout—surprising the twins, and well, _everyone_ —and "there" was the outside ledge on the third floor of his house. The two boys were gripping the walls of the house with shaking fingers; the window they'd presumably climbed out of was about four feet away and locked tight.

"Did _not_ know that that thing could hold that much weight," Astrid quipped, finding her friend among the mass of people.

Hiccup shot her an annoyed look.

She raised her hands in defense, her coat ruffling as she did so. "Rescue mission first. Got it."

Astrid whistled—moments later, the twins arrived, their hair tinged with what she hoped was grass and dirt, their coats forgotten inside the house.

"You called?" Ruffnut asked.

Hiccup gestured to the two boys holding on for dear life.

"Ah," Tuffnut said, nudging his sister. "Didn't think they'd go through with it, honestly."

"Go through with _what_ , exactly?" Hiccup asked frantically.

 _Creak_.

"They were betting on something about being scared of heights or whatever, and someone called someone 'too heavy to stay on The Ledge'," Ruffnut said.

 _Creaaaak_.

"I need new friends," Hiccup deadpanned, covering his face.

 _Creeeeaaaaaaak_.

"Ruff, Tuff, get the ladder—I don't think they're going to be up there for too long. Hiccup, try to get them to go through the window," Astrid ordered, already shaking off her coat.

The twins nodded, running off to the garage.

Hiccup grabbed her shoulder hurriedly. "You're not—"

"Do _you_ want two human pancakes in about two minutes?" she argued, shooting him a glare.

"No…"

She moved his hand away. "I'm just gonna make sure they don't let go until Ruff and Tuff get the ladder."

 _CREEEAAAAAAAAAAK_.

"I'M SORRY FOR CALLING YOU TOO HEAVY!" they heard Snotlout yell.

"I'M SORRY FOR SAYING YOU WERE TOO CHICKEN TO GET ON THE LEDGE!" Fishlegs replied shakily.

Snotlout shook his head. "IT'S OKAY, YOU WERE RIGHT."

Hiccup looked up at the two boys, who were now very obviously frightened by the current situation. He nodded to Astrid. "Just be safe, okay?"

She winked at him, shoving people away and running to the brick-lined wall. "Always am!"

(They got them down safely—through a complex system of coaxing and even the occasional threat from Astrid—though Stoick was less than pleased to find out his house's damage was outside, where everyone could see it. Valka had convinced her husband that it "wasn't all that bad, we've had worse in our day, hmm?" effectively clearing the teens from any responsibilities.

Hiccup wondered if that had anything to do with Gobber's missing hand and foot.)

They'd all settled for hanging out inside the house from that point on—the Haddock house had a fairly large entryway/living room, perfect for hosting the year-end bashes that their family had traditionalized over time.

Tuffnut was, for once, separated from his sister, mingling among the Berk residents with Fishlegs and Snotlout. Ruffnut was surrounded by Berk Academy students, cheering her on as she chugged down a Viking-sized goblet of yaknog—an unsightly and unsavory drink not for the faint of heart (or for _anyone_ , really).

Astrid was on the couch, fully relaxed for the first time that school year. She watched her friends being insane, and took in the ambience of excited people with brightly colored sweaters. They were _happy_.

 _She_ was happy.

"Whatcha smilin' about?" Hiccup said as he plopped down on the seat beside her, handing her a bottle of soda.

"I'm gonna miss this," she replied honestly. She spotted Snotlout dangling something over the heads of girls on the far side of the room and scrunched up her face. "Well, except for Snotlout's mistletoe schemes."

"I'm pretty sure everyone's all levels of done with that," Hiccup laughed, lying back in his seat.

They sat there in silence for who knows how long, their breathing syncing up in a steady rhythm. The music played endlessly, a mix of Christmas music and upbeat dance songs that kept the energy way, _way_ up. Astrid made a mental note to thank Snotlout for not ruining everything later.

"So," Hiccup said finally, breaking the silence. He kept his head back, staring into the design-covered ceiling. "I got into Raven's Point."

Astrid jolted up from her seat. "That's great! When are you supposed to…?"

"July 21st," Hiccup replied excitedly. He turned to her, gesturing wildly as he spoke of the future. "If the twins get in, they said they'll go too, so we're all going to try to find an apartment together—and I know that's probably the _worst_ idea ever, but it's safer than letting them live in the dorms, and… Astrid?"

The blonde's smile had slowly fallen away, and she looked at her friend sadly. "I'm flying out that day."

"Oh."

They stared at each other in silence. This was happening. This was _really_ happening.

Astrid opened and closed her mouth a few times, having trouble finding words. "I—We're still going gliding, I mean—"

"—No, yeah," Hiccup said dumbly, rolling his shoulders for no particular reason. "And—and there's still the internet—"

"Actually, I think we're going to be cut off for the most part…"

"Well—" Hiccup rubbed his neck awkwardly. "There's, y'know, snail mail, I guess."

"Yeah," Astrid sighed.

The two turned back to watch the party, energy effectively drained. They were doing what they did best: ignoring it. Ignoring _everything_.

Astrid did not want to keep ignoring everything.

She cleared her throat. "I—you remember before winter formal?"

Hiccup cocked an eyebrow. "What about?"

"The uh, the thing I said on the phone," she said tucking away a stray hair.

He gulped quietly and watched her intently. "…Yeah?"

"We're going to be apart for a while, and I wanted to—"

" _PUCKER UP_!" yelled their friends, hovering over the two of them and invading their personal space a little too much.

The two teens moved back automatically, attempting to escape their friends' proximity.

"What is—Snotlout, I am _not_ kissing you," Astrid seethed. The fourth intruder had mistletoe in hand, and he dangled it over Astrid head.

"Not _me_ ," he said, tipping his head to Hiccup's direction.

"You have _no_ idea how long it took us to convince him to not make this about him, by the way," Fishlegs said.

Snotlout nudged him ( _hard_ ) on the ribs. "Ignore him. He doesn't know what he's talking about."

"KISS, KISS, KISS, KISS," the twins chanted, way too close and way too loud.

Hiccup and Astrid looked at each other quickly, and then back to their friends.

"Nuh-uh," Hiccup answered, raising his hands in protest.

"Only on the cheek," Astrid said at the same time, crossing her arms.

The two froze, wide-eyed.

"Al _right_!" Ruffnut cheered, "I _knew_ I voted for you for a reason!"

"Weren't you her campaign manager?" Fishlegs asked.

Ruffnut waved him off. "Details, details."

Meanwhile, Hiccup had taken to whispering to his seatmate. "Are you serious?"

"They'll shove that thing in our faces until I leave for basic training," Astrid countered. "Might as well, right?"

"Are you _sure_?"

"Hiccup, I kiss you on the cheek all the time—"

"Not under duress. Or, y'know, mistletoe."

Astrid smiled tightly, trying not to catch the attention of her arguing friends. "See this? This is going to be the rest of senior year. Do you want this to be the rest of senior year, Hiccup?"

"Enough!" Tuffnut said, shushing his co-conspirators. He turned back on their soon-to-be victims. "It's on the lips or we're gonna get the rest of these party people in on this. Your choice."

Hiccup balked. "No way!"

Astrid tightened her arms around her. "How do we know you won't pull this stunt again on Christmas?"

"We swear on our Hiccup's leg that we will not pull this again on Christmas," the four chorused.

The stare down that followed was the stuff of legend; it also happened to only last about five seconds.

"Fine," Astrid said flatly, shrugging.

She grabbed Hiccup by the shirt, kissed him, then got up and headed for the bathroom.

* * *

 **r &r if you feel like uwu**


	7. Closet Space

**wow I didn't think I'd have time this weekend but here we are**

* * *

Things that happened immediately following the Mistletoe Situation:

· Ruffnut following Astrid to the bathroom

· Astrid locking said friend out of bathroom

· The boys continued staring, slack-jawed for near fifteen minutes

· Hiccup excusing himself to "water the pool"

· See above, but remember that it is winter

· Very confused party guests mulling about the remaining slack-jawed male teens—they hadn't seen the spectacle, having been blocked by four of the six, and also because Astrid had been quick about it

· Astrid, still in the bathroom, arguing with herself in an effort to convince herself that she "felt nothing"

· The party disintegrating into nothing as 11:30 rolled by, and the friends slowly coming to and leaving for their separate homes

· See above: Astrid also managed to sneak away amongst the mass of drained partygoers, suddenly aware of what she had done, and regretting it immensely

Things that did not happen immediately following the Mistletoe Situation:

· A repetition of the Mistletoe Situation

· Any discussion in relation to both the Mistletoe Situation and The Call

* * *

Next to no one at Berk Academy had learned of the kiss, but next to _everyone_ at Berk Academy had noticed a strong shift in Hiccup and Astrid's demeanor towards each other.

The two had barely interacted after the party, both to each other and to their respective families—which was extremely odd, considering the Haddocks' closeness and the Hoffersons' Christmas spirit. They spent more and more time in the confines of their rooms, debating everything they'd ever known about each other against the same to the express confusion of their beloved pets.

("Let me tell you something about Astrid Hofferson, okay? She speaks her mind, she will protect her friends at all costs, and she's the hardest worker I know—she's also confident-slash-borderline-vain, _extremely_ pretty, and she never, and I mean _never_ dates her friends," Hiccup had told Toothless with his most serious voice.

The cat had merely planted a paw on his owner's face, as if to say, "You are dumb. I will keep you.")

("I mean, is he good-looking? Sure, but so are a billion _other_ people. And I _guess_ he has a good heart, and he genuinely cares about his friends, and he's, y'know, the only person I can really trust—"

Stormfly squawked in protest.

" _Person_ , girl, you're still my favorite," Astrid assured the parakeet.

Stormfly lifted her head proudly—a signal for the girl to continue.

"But I mean, he's _Hiccup_ —he's my _best friend_ —human friend, I mean—and, I don't know. I don't know if I want to risk that," she finished, slumping in her chair and letting out an agonized groan.)

Friend hangouts had taken a sharp turn, with one or the other or _both_ cancelling last minute in an obvious effort at avoidance. The twins had debated dragging them "through the yellowest snow we can find and _force_ them to talk"—a plan Fishlegs had concluded would win them nothing, especially because "that is _disgusting_ ".

So they waited for the return of classes and set schedules, where they _knew_ the two couldn't run forever—they were in at least three classes together, and Hiccup was a default part of any of the student council-led decorating crews because of his artistic skill.

The four had anticipated an increased awkwardness between the two, but none of them had foreseen said awkwardness not losing it's momentum, and instead reaching a point of forced formality, with Astrid and Hiccup pointedly shaking hands if they _had_ to make physical contact.

It was worse than the time that they had to clean up for Gobber—and _that_ included horse dung.

On the _second floor_ of his house.

"We _need_ to do something about those two," Ruffnut groaned; it was the end of the school day on the first week of February, and Astrid had run off to work on some Valentine's Day event with the student council—Hiccup was at the helm of the decorations department as per usual, but he'd made some excuse about "working on it with Toothless".

What a _cat_ would even vaguely know about decorations was beyond them, but the duo's separation had caused a flurry of questions to be thrown at the remaining four friends, who, with true loyalty, had declined to comment.

(Except Snotlout. He almost did, but the Fishlegs had—well, let's just say that he found some new uses for _Meatlug_ and was considering joining some professional robot battles.)

"We've tried _everything_ ," Snotlout whined in reply, throwing up his hands. "Those two were always two steps ahead before, and now that they're avoiding each other, they're like, _fifty_ steps ahead! It's—it's just— _ughhhh_."

"I know what you mean," Fishlegs said sadly. "Last week, Hiccup had me wake up thirty minutes earlier so he could skip giving Astrid a ride. _This_ week, Astrid woke me up an hour earlier. I _need_ my sleep, you guys. You _know_ how cranky I get."

Tuffnut moved back. "You're not gonna go all… _berserker_ on us again, are you?"

"Not if you can get them to stop this… this MADNESS," Fishlegs wailed, a mix of a sob and a growl escaping his lips. He was taking the whole deal the worst, being the advisor to both Hiccup and Astrid in a variety of things.

(In retrospect, it was like being a child of two parents who were having the most awkward divorce in all of existence.)

The twins pat their friend on the back, nodding encouragingly.

"We'll figure something out, 'legs," Ruffnut said.

"Or our names aren't 'Danger' and 'More Danger'," Tuffnut finished.

Snotlout scrunched up his face in confused. "They're _not_."

"Tell that to our birth certificates," Ruffnut countered, glaring at the black-haired boy.

"Whatever," Snotlout said, rolling his eyes. He stood up. "Just figure it out quick, because there's no way I'm going to deal with this— _whatever_ it is, for the rest of my life, okay?"

(He'd walked off without them realizing that he, Snotlout, had verbally confessed, in a way, to wanting to be a part of his current friends' life well into the future.)

* * *

It came to be that the twins _did_ come up with a plan—something simple, for once, and utilizing both Snotlout's physical prowess and Fishlegs' mostly-dependent nature.

The plan went like this:

· On Valentine's Day, much like the years before, the boys and girls of the group would trade flowers for chocolate; they knew Astrid and Hiccup wouldn't opt out of it because of their dedication to their friends—

· —but just in case, Fishlegs was assigned to coax either or both parties to join in. Which he did.

· They would position themselves as follows: the twins on either side of Astrid, and Snotlout and Fishlegs on either side of, and slightly behind Hiccup.

· The group would trade gifts during lunch time to avoid drawing a crowd, and the exchange would take place in front of Snotlout's locker, which also happened to be situated directly across the janitor's closet.

· If all went smoothly (and it did, thank goodness), they'd have hauled and/or pushed their friends into the closet, locked the door (key courtesy of Ruffnut "More Danger" Thorston), and stated their demands.

"Listen up, numbskulls," Tuffnut pronounced from the other side of the door.

"The bell rings in twenty minutes, which means in twenty minutes, we're gonna have a _lot_ more company out here."

"Now, you two can either work this whole thing out in twenty minutes—sorry, nineteen—or, y'know, we can always grab a few more chairs and bring on some popcorn," Fishlegs added.

"I'm going to kill _all_ of you!" Astrid yelled through the door, furiously pounding the wood and glass.

"Ah-ah-ah," Snotlout chided.

"If you two complain _three_ times, we're calling in the whole school via intercom," Ruffnut explained. "That's one. Your choice."

Astrid hoped they could feel her glaring from beyond the glass. "I will _ruin_ —"

"Two," Snotlout said in a singsong voice. "Do you _really_ want to try for three, Astrid?"

Silence.

"Didn't think so."

More silence. They could very much feel her glaring from beyond the glass.

"We're going to step away now," Fishlegs said calmly. "And you two can talk about whatever you want—preferably the Thing, but really, at this point, we just want you to _talk_."

And thus Haddock and Hofferson were once again caught in a predicament not of their choosing, turning to each other in the dimly lit closet with apprehension and so. much. awkwardness.

"So," Hiccup said finally, after Astrid's fuming had appeared to dissipate. "This is happening."

"I guess so," Astrid replied, finding a seat on one of the empty buckets.

Silence.

She twiddled with her thumbs, not looking up. He busied himself with reading labels and notes off of cleaning products—'Use for rats in cafeteria' was one he wasn't too fond of noticing—and knocked his arms on his side repeatedly.

More silence.

"I'm sorry," they said in unison, both turning to each other at the same time.

"Don't b—I mean, what for?" Hiccup asked in confusion.

Astrid shrugged. "Everything, I guess. I shouldn't have ignored you."

Hiccup swung his arms about, amazingly not hitting anything in the tight space. "I shouldn't have been weird about it."

"It was fair to be _weird_ about it, Hiccup—"

"You did it to get them off our backs, I _get_ it," Hiccup said, instinctively moving to sit down beside her and almost falling into a bin full of soapy water.

Astrid caught him. "That is a _really_ bad idea."

He looked down, nodding and smiling sheepishly—then he noticed her hand on his arm, and he noticed a dozen other things, like her neat braid, and the different shades of blue in her eyes, and the fact that _she was still holding his arm_.

" _Uh_ ," he said dumbly, nodding to his arm. She let go and, unless he was hallucinating, _blushed_.

"Look," Astrid started after the brunet had resigned himself to leaning on the door. "What happened was a mistake, right?"

Hiccup nodded a little too enthusiastically, his arms and shoulders following the motion. "Absolutely! We don't _like_ each other. I mean, we _like_ each other, but we don't have, y'know, _feelings_ aside from friendship for each other."

" _Exactly_ ," Astrid confirmed, a little more cheer in her voice than what was necessary. "We're not _in love_ or anything. I mean, I love you, but not _that_ way, you know?"

"I know exactly what you mean," Hiccup said; for added emphasis, he playfully nudged her on the shoulder, saying, "buddy."

"Pal," Astrid nudged back.

"Okay then," Hiccup said cheerfully. "I guess—I guess we're done here."

Astrid exhaled. "I guess so."

"With five minutes to spare," Hiccup announced, looking at his watch. He turned to the door. "Hey, guys? We made up!"

"We're okay now, guys!" Astrid called. "You can open the door!"

"Anytime time now, you guys!" Hiccup yelled, half-panicking.

Astrid joined him at the door, pushing at it in vain from the inside. Curse the well-maintained building structures. "This is _so_ not funny, you guys! I have a class after this!"

"I have a quiz today! Ruff! Tuff!"

"You are all DEAD TO ME!"

(Of course something was bound to go wrong without either Hiccup or Astrid at the helm, and having the twins in charge was by far the worst decision they'd made in the matter. When the four had finally remembered—this being when Fishlegs had mentioned their names in passing over an after school meal—they found the two incredibly hungry, and—Astrid especially—determined to "wring their necks for every single minute of productive time" they'd missed.)

* * *

 **reviews have appeared to be fixed, so review away uwu**


	8. Ballroom Chasing

**I DIDN'T ABANDON THIS but life happened whoops**

* * *

" _Prom decorations? Do you think that's a good idea?_ "

"Hiccup, we survived working together for Valentines Day, and we weren't even talking then."

Something ruffled over the line. " _Exactly my point. It was already weird to begin with. Prom's going to be us_ —"

"It's not going to be a problem if there's nothing going on between us, right?"

"… _Right_."

Astrid took a deep breath. "And there's _nothing_ going on between us, right?"

A beat.

Two.

"Hic—"

" _Yeah, nothing. Okay, I'll do it,_ " the boy replied hurriedly. " _I'll be home in an hour or so._ "

"Great," Astrid replied, exhaling. She absentmindedly messed with her braid's end with her free hand. "Not like there are better artists at school or anything."

" _Astrid, the budget's big enough to hire a pro and you know it._ "

"Yeah, but then I couldn't help you with portfolio entries," she said with a laugh. "Just take it, Hiccup."

" _Fair point._ "

"I'll see you later."

" _Bye_ ," he said. He paused, adding, " _Babe_."

She could hear the smile in his voice; that mischievous, good-for-nothing grin of his.

"Don't even _joke_."

 _Click_.

"He's a jerk, Stormfly," she said to her pet, laughing the slightest bit. "A jerk I'm gonna have trouble leaving."

(She had done two things that week in reference to her future: a letter was sent, and a ticket was purchased. Astrid Hofferson was always one to have a backup plan.)

* * *

The ballroom allotted to them for prom was gigantic—a room fit to hold the 300 or so juniors, seniors, and their chaperones, with a large space for dancing, and a stage for the band. Astrid _whoop_ ed when she saw it.

"Heck _yes_! I can't believe Mulch got this place for us this year! Do you have _any_ idea how hard it is to book this place?" she exclaimed, moving about the room excitedly. If she was going to graduate, she was going to make sure she threw the best prom as the student council president—and the first step was securing a ballroom at Changewing Hotel.

"Upwards of a year in waiting time," Hiccup replied absentmindedly, engrossed in the details of one of the rugs.

" _Rhetorical_ question, hotshot."

Astrid continued looking about the room, inspecting the size and taking note of possible table placements and other things.

Hiccup hummed walking a good ten paces behind. He kept turning around in every direction, soaking it all in. The atmosphere got into his head. "I _cannot_ believe we're going to our senior prom without dates."

Astrid paused, the statement jolting her back to reality. She wished Ruffnut—who was, surprisingly, the council secretary—were around to kill the tension. She was starting to doubt that her friend "needed" to help clean up at home.

(None of the other officers were available, or _wanted_ to be available, considering midterms were all over the place again. That, _and_ they were also in on the Hiccup-Astrid pot, many betting on them getting together either at prom or during prep for prom.)

"Astrid?" Hiccup asked after she'd spaced out. "You okay?"

She cleared her throat. "I— _cough_ —yeah, m'fine. Why? You thinking of backing out of the pact?"

"No," he said, moving his prosthetic about nervously. "Just wanted to go through the trouble of asking someone, I guess, since I didn't go last year."

She stole a glance at him.

He didn't look at her.

"What would you—y'know, what would you have done?" Astrid asked finally, turning back to face the back wall of the ballroom.

"Like a gimmick for asking?" Hiccup asked.

She didn't turn around. "Yeah."

"Why, do you like that cheesy stuff?" Hiccup teased, finally looking up at her.

Astrid shrugged, not replying. She found the molding increasingly interesting.

"Whoaaa," he laughed. " _Astrid Hofferson_ wants a _sappy prom proposal_?"

"Want _ed_ ," she corrected, turning sharply and fussing with her braid to take the attention off her reddening face. "And if you tell _anyone_ , I _will_ kill you in your sleep."

Hiccup laughed openly, his voice echoing in the mostly empty ballroom. He balled over, falling over on his left side. His prosthetic made a dull _clang_ on the floor through his jeans.

" _Hiccup!_ " Astrid threatened, her braid forgotten and her face dangerously red.

The boy sat up, calming down slightly as his friend moved closer. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry—it's just—"

"Just. _what_ ," Astrid said through gritted teeth. She'd gotten all the way to him, blue eyes sharp and determined, staring him down.

Hiccup grinned lopsidedly, raising his arms in defense. "It's nothing _bad,_ Astrid."

" _Spill_."

His smile faltered and he rubbed his neck, suddenly very interested in the floor. A mumble escaped his lips, and from where she was standing, Astrid could see a blush forming on _his_ face.

"What?" she asked calmly.

"I said, Ikindamaybepossiblywasgoingtoaskyou."

"Hiccup, I have no idea what you're sa—"

"I wanted to ask you to prom."

Hiccup had his head down, drawing circles on the polished marble floor. Astrid could vaguely make out his reflection through the pattern on the floor—he looked neither sorry nor expectant.

"As…?" she asked, hoping she didn't give anything away in her voice.

"As a friend," he replied with a shrug. Hiccup looked up at her; his voice was even and uncharacteristically void of emotion. "Because there's nothing between us, right?"

Astrid stared back, matching his emotionlessness. "Right."

She adjusted her bag and helped Hiccup to his feet. "So. Measurements?"

Hiccup pulled out a sketchbook and pencil from his bag, opening to a page full of loosely drawn decorations. He pointed to one of the banners with his pencil, moving close enough to show Astrid, but far enough to not actually make physical contact. "I was thinking of this, but—"

"Corner instead of back wall?" Astrid supplied automatically, blue eyes trained on the sketches in pure concentration.

"Yeah," he said, smiling. Anything work-related ensured a return to a stage of comfort and lax understanding.

Astrid instinctively asked for the pencil, writing notes on the edges of the page. She was the only one allowed to do that. "So, what would you have done?"

"Well, that looks about right," Hiccup said, scrunching up his face in confusion.

"I meant if you asked me," she answered, still focused on the sketch. She added a little edit on the side of the drawing, looking at him and tapping the note. "That needs to be a deep color, not bright or anything, got it?"

He stared at her in surprise, half-sputtering, "I—uh, okay, yeah, I can do that—and, I don't know, I was thinking of taking you to the firefly place by the Cove."

He looked at the notes she'd written, silently asked for the pencil, and circled the word "DEEP" that she'd written down. "Are we thinking something like red or purple?"

Astrid raised a brow at him. "Why the firefly field?" she asked curiously before switching topics again, "Ruff's _insisting_ on blue. The other officers don't really mind either way."

"I don't know—well, I _do_ actually know; you wanted to go there with that guy who dumped you on Valentine's Day, remember?" Hiccup said, shrugging. He wrote "Ruff—blue" under the drawing, mentally noting the twin's proficiency for hounding someone to do her bidding.

"Oh," Astrid said, surprised. "I didn't think you'd remember that."

Hiccup shrugged. Again.

"That's—wouldn't that have been, you know, kinda romantic for a _friend_ thing?" she asked hopefully.

"I mean, it's prom, Astrid. You deserve to have a _little_ romance, even if I have to be the one to give it," he replied, moving his arms about awkwardly, almost dropping the sketchbook.

Astrid caught it. "That's… sweet."

Her hand bent one of the pages slightly, and she hurried to even it out. Something caught her eye, and she turned to her friend in astonishment. "Is that—is this a sketch for a _sculpture_?"

Hiccup's eyes went wide. "Don't—"

Astrid grinned widely, pointing at the drawing. "Isn't this your Halloween costume from last year?"

"Astrid, give me the boo—"

"IT IS!" she yelled ecstatically, breaking off into a run with Hiccup on her tail. She flipped through some of the older pages, her laughter echoing throughout the room. "Hiccup, these are _great_ —I mean, _really_ , I love what you've done with yourself here—"

" _Astrid!_ "

"Did you make Toothless a dragon? Oh, I love this," she commented, shaking her head as she ran, outmatching him at every turn of a corner and keeping him at a constant distance. "You mind if I show this to your mom? I'd bet she'd love to help you make it, being from a smithy family and a—"

Astrid had forgotten the most important rule when messing with Hiccup—never let him out of your sights. Chances are he'll pull a surprise attack.

The chances were very high in that ballroom. He'd tuck and rolled to her side, then jumped, colliding with his friend and the floor in five seconds flat. Astrid was a good sport about it, laughing as the boy took his sketchbook and hastily shoved it into his bag.

She stopped laughing when she noticed he was still _very_ close to her. She gulped quietly.

"You're on my arm," he said raising his brow and frowning.

Astrid coughed and rolled off, offering him a hand. She smiled. "I would've said yes."

He grinned lopsidedly.

He didn't have to ask.


End file.
